Hmong Embroidery Exhibit

ST. PAUL (Nov. 20, 2013) — Hmong Cultural Center in partnership with the Hmong Archives has launched a Hmong Embroidery community exhibit at the center’s offices at 995 University Avenue, Suite 214 in Saint Paul.

Featuring more than 100 artworks exhibited on the HmongEmbroidery.org virtual museum, this community exhibit will give voice to the experiences and artistic expressions of Hmong artists as manifested in both traditional and modern dimensions of the Hmong folk art form of embroidery.

The HmongEmbroidery.org community exhibit includes displays and narrative descriptions of numerous types of traditional and modern Hmong embroidered artwork including but not limited to Embroidery; Appliqué; Reverse Appliqué; Batik; Hmong Attire; Hmong-inspired Designs and Crafts and Ornaments. Artworks featured in the exhibit come from Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, China and the United States. Items were selected from the more than 200 pieces featured on the HmongEmbroidery.org website which were themselves chosen from the more than 3,000 combined items of embroidery artworks included in the Hmong Cultural Center and Hmong Archives collections in Saint Paul, MN.

The exhibit is accompanied by a glossy, color program featuring each artwork included in the exhibit. This program is available at the Hmong Cultural Center and the Hmong Archives’ offices. The Hmong Cultural Center and the Hmong Archives are very grateful to the City of Saint Paul’s Cultural Star Program and the Travelers Arts and Diversity Committee for this important funding support. The broader HmongEmbroidery.org virtual museum project has also been supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hmong Cultural Center’s mission is to promote the personal development of children, youth, and adults through Hmong cultural education while providing resources that enhance cross-cultural awareness and understanding between Hmong and non-Hmong persons. In early 2012, HCC earned “Meets Standards” Status from the Charities Review Council. Visit www.hmonglibrary.org and www.hmongcc.org.,

The goals of the Hmong Archives include the following: to collect, preserve and make known Hmong knowledge and artifacts worldwide, through displays at our offices, at community events, and on our website; to conduct Hmong History and culture conferences and classes and to document Hmong oral histories. In addition to an extensive collection of Hmong-related books and articles, the Hmong Archives hosts a collection of more than 100,000 Hmong artifacts and objects including several hundred pieces of Hmong embroidery – part of nearly a thousand textile items. The Hmong Archives website may be visited at www.hmongarchives.org.